It's the thought that counts
by Hellotheredarling
Summary: "H-how did you… Where did you find them?" Derek said his throat suddenly very dry "I asked Deaton and he gave me a list of your old family friends in the area. Once they found out what I wanted they were happy to help. I managed to blackmail Danny into searching the internet for me, he's a really chatty drunk, and there was a surprising amount there. I'm not sure how he found out."


**_It's a bit late for a Christmas fic but i started writing it before the holidays and only just got around to editing it now. Enjoy._**

**It's the thought that counts**

The mall was already heaving with last minute Christmas shoppers when he arrived. Why did he always leave his shopping until the last minute? Probably because he never knew what to get anyone he thought. It was even worse this year as Lydia had forced the pack into a secret Santa and everyone was too afraid of her to refuse. As luck would have it Stiles had picked Derek's name out of the bejewelled Santa hat Lydia had brought to their last pack meeting. It was the alpha's first Christmas without Laura so he wanted to get him something special, something to show him that Stiles cared, that the pack cared.  
Stiles had been searching the mall several times a week for the last month trying to find the perfect gift. There had been several somewhat decent gifts but nothing that had stood out. After the first week he had already found presents for the Sheriff, Scott and Mrs McCall so he was able to spend all his free time focusing on his remaining gift.  
It was 6 days until Christmas Eve when they were meeting for the gift exchange and Stiles was getting anxious. He had spent yet another day roaming the mall for ideas and still ended up empty handed. It was only when he got home that inspiration finally struck. He didn't know how he hadn't thought of out sooner it was, in his opinion, a brilliant idea.  
The next day he set his plan in action so by the time Christmas Eve finally arrived everything was ready. They had taken a group vote and decided to have their party at the Stilinski household. Stiles didn't mind, it was better than spending more time in the burnt out shell of the Hale house. He put together a 'small' buffet which could probably feed 20 people but wouldn't even begin to satisfy a bunch of teenage werewolves.  
The pack arrived around 6 with varied expressions. The girls were excited, Boyed and Jackson seemed bored, Scott and Isaac were eyeing the food, Stiles was nervous and Derek's expression was unreadable as always.  
After a short meal the pack sat on any available surface in the front room as they passed gifts between them. Once everyone had a present each they all looked expectantly between Lydia and Derek not sure who was opening their gift first. After no one had said anything for a few moments and Isaac looked like he was about to pass out from excitement Stiles decided to take matters into his own hands. Sighing loudly he picked up the nearest thing he could reach and threw at Isaacs head.  
"Go on then, open it before you give yourself an aneurism." He said playfully once he got the wolf's attention. Grinning broadly Isaac shredded the wrapping paper with no hesitation. His smile grew even larger when he saw what was inside. At first Stiles was confused. Why was Isaac so excited by a video game? But then he spotted the tickets stuck to the case and everything made sense. The tickets were for a gaming convention a couple of hours away, Isaac, Scott and Stiles had been planning to go but hadn't been able to find tickets. Looking around the room Isaac tried to work out who his gift was from, it was obviously someone who knew the teen well. Surprisingly it was Derek that responded to Isaac's inquisitive look.  
"I heard you talking to Scott about how much you wanted to go but couldn't get tickets so I tracked down an old acquaintance that owed me a favour and got both of you a ticket. Oh and there's one for Stiles as well if he wants to go." Derek said without looking at anyone. Everyone knew Derek was a good alpha, they just sometimes forgot how much he cared for them all. Breaking the awkward silence Isaac turned to Scott.  
"You next Scott, I got you." He said nudging the boy sat too his left with a small smile. Scott looked at the obviously shaped gift in his lap. Hiding his laugh he used a single claw to slice the paper in half before pulling it back to reveal new lacrosse gear. Werewolves seem to go through twice as much gear than regular teenagers did.  
"Thanks Isaac. This is just what I needed." The smaller boy grinned at the praise still not used to having people treat him well, probably due to the aggressive way they play.  
"So who did you get Scott?" Erica asked Scott who was still beaming at the boy by his side. It took a sharp jab to his ribs to get him to respond.  
"Wha…? Oh right yeah I got Peter." Scott said trying to avoid looking at the older man. Even though they were pack he still found it difficult to be around the ex-alpha after everything he had done. It wasn't like Peter made things any easier, the guy was a creep. Uncle bad-touch was the unofficial nickname Stiles had christened him with. But still the guy was pack which meant he was practically family. Scott shuffled in his seat as Peter slowly unwrapped his present, taking his time to remove each individual piece of tape before uncovering the mysterious box in front of him. He paused as he removed the last piece of paper and discovered what it was. For once he was speechless. In the box was a selection of rare cooking ingredients and several high end kitchen utensils. Peter looked across at Scott with wide eyes, his confusion written on his face.  
"How did you…" he trailed off looking back down at his new supplies. Scott shifted uncomfortably as he felt everyone's eyes on him.  
"Derek told me a few weeks ago that you used to love cooking for your family so I got Stiles to track a few things down for me. It's nothing really." Scott shrugged refusing to look at anyone as he felt a flush spread up his neck. Stiles found it all rather amusing, it was very rare that Scott got embarrassed, even rarer that he let the embarrassment show. Without saying anything Peter quickly made his way across the circle and wrapped his arms tightly around the younger boy, for once Scott didn't push him away. Instead he returned the hug as much as he could from his position on the floor. Once Peter was back in his seat he cleared his throat and nodded towards Danny.  
"Yours is the big one under the tree still." Peter said quietly before continuing to examine his gift, slowly trailing his fingers around the edge of the box. With the help of Jackson, Danny managed to drag his gift out in to the centre of the room to open.

After the slight commotion Peter and Scott had caused the rest of the gifts were quickly handed out and opened. The large box Peter had given Danny contained a new, top of the range, computer to help with his hacking. Danny had managed to track down Jackson's birth mother and gave him the address. Jackson had gotten Allison some new arrows as she had a tendency to lose them when tracking something down for the wolves. Lydia was notoriously hard to shop for as she had a habit of returning whatever was bought for her and choosing her own gift so she received a gift card for her favourite store. The redhead gave Boyed her old car as she knew he couldn't afford one and her parents bought her a new one each year. The key Boyed gave Erica to their new apartment caused everyone to get a bit emotional before Erica's gift to Stiles of a Batman goodie bag, complete with multiple DVDs and a selection of vintage comics, had everyone laughing again.

After an hour or so everyone had opened their gifts except for Derek who was sat in the corner, watching his pack discus their gifts, with a small smile which he was failing to hold back. Whilst most of the pack was distracted Stiles slipped a small package into the alpha's lap. Derek seemed surprised to receive a gift from the hyperactive boy. Raising an eyebrow he picked up the square object before hesitantly beginning to open it. Stiles nervously picked at the hem of his plaid shirt, he wasn't sure what Derek's reaction would be. As Derek stared at the object in front of him his expression remained blank. Stiles was starting to regret his choice, maybe he had over stepped a boundary? When he looked back at Derek he noticed a lone tear slowly sliding down the alpha's cheek. Fighting back the urge to wipe it away Stiles cleared his throat timidly. Derek finally noticed that he was being watched by the younger boy and tried to wipe his face casually before anyone else noticed the tear.  
"H-how did you… Where did you find them?" Derek said his throat suddenly very dry  
"I asked Deaton and he gave me a list of your old family friends in the area. Once they found out what I wanted they were happy to help. I managed to blackmail Danny into searching the internet for me, he's a really chatty drunk, and there was a surprising amount there. I'm not sure how he found out, and I probably don't want to know, but Peter turned up a couple of days ago and gave me some he had hidden in storage. I know it wasn't my place, and I'm probably over stepped hundreds of different boundaries, but I know how hard the first Christmas is after you lose someone close to you so I just thought that, maybe, it would be nice to have another connection to her, to the rest of your family." At Derek's blank expression Stiles trailed off and looked away giving the wolf some privacy as he flicked through the photo album. He was surprised to find that whilst he was explaining his gift to Derek the rest of the pack had left the room. Looking back he found that Derek was much closer than he had been a few minutes ago.  
"Thank you Stiles, it means a lot." Derek said, he sounded almost affectionate, and since when did Derek Hale ever say thank you for anything? Stiles had to be dreaming. The alpha moved closer to Stiles and gradually raised his hand to cup the younger boy's jaw. He hesitated before completely closing the gap between them, only pausing once to check for any sign of rejection from Stiles. Stiles was too shocked to do anything but whatever his face was showing, Derek took it as a positive sign. The moment their lips connected Stiles was jolted back to reality and froze before sharply pushing Derek away. Panic flashed through Derek's eyes before he regained his usual steely expression.  
"I apologise." Derek said turning to leave the room. Stiles quickly reached out and grabbed his arm as he passed.  
"No wait. It's not that that wasn't great, I mean it was awesome, but why? You hate me? So unless this is a dream there is definitely something you're not telling me." The younger boy whispered not wanting to scare the dark haired man away. Derek watched him with an expression that was an equal mixture of fondness and irritation. Seeing the irritation caused Stiles to glare, however instead of looking threatening it just made him look like a slightly upset kitten, it was actually very cute. Derek took a step closer to Stiles and loosely wrapped his arms around the smaller boy.  
"I don't hate you Stiles, not anymore at least. I kissed you because it's something I've wanted to do for a while now and today just reminded me why. You are the only person I know who can put so much time and effort in to a gift but still not think it was a big deal. You care about everyone else in the pack and constantly put them before yourself. If I think about it you helped more than half the pack find their gifts yet refuse to take any credit. You're the most amazing person I know and, even if I don't show it very well, you mean a lot to me. You know me better than anyone, almost as well as Laura did and I was actually willing to talk to her about things." He took another step closer causing Stiles to place his hands on Derek's arms to avoid having them pinned in place. Leaning in Derek rested his forehead against Stiles'  
"For some reason I'm falling for the hyperactive teenage who has forced himself into my life over the last year and no matter how many times I keep pushing him away or how badly I treat him, he always comes back for more. He is the most generous, courageous and beautiful boy I know and he's the only one who can't see how amazing he is. I know I don't deserve him but I'm hoping he's willing to give me a chance." Derek said as he absently stroked back and forth along Stiles' side. The younger boys smile had continued to grow as the alpha was speaking.  
"I'm really, really hoping that the hyperactive boys name is Stiles." He replied trying to push the smile off his face but gave up as soon as the twin smile appeared on Derek's face. He didn't think he had ever seen Derek smile before and it was impossible not to react to it.  
"He might be." Derek murmured against Stiles surprisingly soft lips. Stiles didn't get a chance to say anything else as the alpha resealed their lips together in a gentle kiss. There wasn't really anything left to say anyway so Stiles simply melted into the kiss, wondering how he had ever gotten this lucky.

**The End**

**_Reviews are love and all that. Thanks x_**


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